Pakistani military forces launched cross-border operations against militant positions within Afghanistan, according to officials in Karachi who attributed a wave of recent suicide attacks to fighters based in Afghan territory.
The military action represents a significant increase in hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government, occurring just days after Kabul freed three Pakistani military personnel through Saudi Arabian mediation designed to reduce friction after months of border confrontations.
According to a February 21 government statement released Sunday morning, Pakistani officials possess “conclusive evidence” that the attacks were orchestrated by groups they refer to as Khwarij – their designation for the Pakistani Taliban – following orders from “their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.”
Pakistani forces conducted “intelligence-based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts” operated by the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic State Khorasan Province near the Afghan border, the statement indicated.
Afghan Taliban officials were not immediately available for response to Reuters inquiries. Kabul has consistently rejected claims that militants use Afghan soil to launch operations against Pakistan.
According to government sources, recent attacks included an explosion at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad and violence in the northwestern border regions of Bajaur and Bannu. In Bannu, military officials reported Saturday that a suicide attacker targeted a security convoy, resulting in five militant deaths during fighting and two soldier fatalities when an explosive-filled vehicle struck a military truck.
The ongoing friction has repeatedly forced major border crossing points to close, hampering commerce and travel along the 2,600-kilometer frontier.
Violent confrontations in October resulted in dozens of casualties before both nations reached a tenuous ceasefire agreement. However, Pakistan maintains its accusations that Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership provides sanctuary to militants conducting attacks on Pakistani soil – allegations that Kabul continues to reject.
